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Pin-Lee closed and submitted the last form of the day with a sigh, consciously relaxing her jaw and back muscles. Technically today was supposed to be a holiday, but the Corporation Rim didn’t hold with holidays, which meant Preservation’s expert on corporate contract law couldn’t either.
Or at least, she couldn’t hold with multi-day holidays. Probably nothing would catch fire if she actually took tomorrow off.
Probably.
She got up, stretching her legs and popping her left elbow, the one that always hurt after she sat in an office chair too long, and switched her feed from working-professional-contact status to personal-time-contact status, and she’d barely had time to gather her things and leave her office before Bharadwaj noticed. Her message consisted of only one word: Tea?
Pin-Lee grimaced. It wasn’t her after-work beverage of choice, but concessions did have to be made for the holiday.
Tomorrow, New Year’s Day, Arrival Day, would be a day of celebration, but today was a day for contemplation, of looking back at everything that had happened this year.
A lot had happened this year.
Sure, she agreed, give me ten minutes.
They met in the station park, near Bharadwaj’s favorite tea shop. Her friend smiled wide when she saw her and waved with the hand not on her cane, as if making sure Pin-Lee couldn’t miss her, despite the sparseness of the crowd all around them.
Pin-Lee rolled her eyes but smiled back, unable to entirely hide how much seeing Bharadwaj cheered her up.
The thing about contemplation holidays was that sometimes you couldn’t control what you contemplated, and more than once today Pin-Lee’s mind had returned to the image of Bharadwaj bleeding in that hopper, her normally rich brown skin turning the grey of the survey uniforms all around her.
“Having a nice Journey’s End?” asked Pin-Lee as she drew closer, sarcasm heavy. Weeks ago now, Bharadwaj had commented that the day the last of the survey group got back—the day Pin-Lee, Gurathin, Mensah, and SecUnit had disembarked the shuttle—had felt like Journey’s End and Arrival Day come early.
“I am now that you’re here,” Bharadwaj said.
That startled a snort out of Pin-Lee. “That’s a new one.”
Bharadwaj grinned unrepentantly. “I’ve been watching one of SecUnit’s dramas. Loads of new material.”
Pin-Lee growled and elbowed her, more a nudge than anything else. “Let’s go get that tea of yours.”
For Bharadwaj’s benefit, they kept their pace leisurely on their way to the shop, and Pin-lee was the one to order at the counter while Bharadwaj sat down.
Much as Pin-Lee disliked the enforced-calm atmosphere of Preservation tea shops, she had to admit she preferred casually ordering a pot of Bharadwaj’s favorite from the proprietor to the Corporation Rim’s automated beverage machines, with their overcomplicated payment systems and watered-down coffee.
“Closing in twenty for the holiday,” the proprietor warned as Pin-Lee collected the tray. “So, if you two want a second pot, order soon.”
“We’ll be fine,” Pin-Lee said. Belatedly, she tacked on, “Thanks.”
The proprietor waved her off, seeing that Pin-Lee was in no state for small talk, and Pin-Lee tried not to look like she was walking too fast as she made her escape.
Bharadwaj, she saw as she sat down, was laughing at her and trying to hide it.
“You try dealing with corporate assholes all day and then holding normal human conversation,” Pin-Lee grumbled. “It’s not as easy as I make it look.”
Bharadwaj’s eyes danced with mirth. “It must be truly obscenely difficult, then.”
Pin-Lee scowled.
Bharadwaj poured tea for them both and started sipping it with a contemplative look on her face. “We never really talked about it, did we?”
There were a few things that ‘it’ could be, but Pin-Lee doubted she wanted to talk about any of them just now. “Just because it’s Journey’s End doesn’t mean we have to talk about—whatever the hell it is.”
Bharadwaj tapped one finger on the rim of her teacup. “You didn’t want to talk before we left, either.”
So that’s what ‘it’ is. The conversation Bharadwaj had tried to start before she, Volescu, Arada, and Overse had returned to Preservation.
“There wasn’t anything to talk about,” Pin-Lee insisted.
Bharadwaj just frowned at her. “You couldn’t have been more obviously blaming yourself if you’d tried. Even though it wasn’t your fault.”
Pin-Lee had the distance now to know she’d been ill-tempered and abrasive after the survey, and that it would have been obvious enough to everyone. That didn’t stop her glaring into her tea.
“I’m serious,” Bharadwaj continued. “There was no way you could have known. You might as well blame Mensah for not reading the company rep’s mind.”
“It’s my job to notice when something’s wrong,” Pin-Lee warned. PreservationAux trusted her as their legal counsel because she was damn good at it. Because she didn’t fuck it all up like she did on the survey.
“Okay, one: you sound like SecUnit, and two: legally wrong. The contracts were fine. And you’re not a superhero, no matter how much you act like it.”
Pin-Lee didn’t reply, and Bharadwaj sighed. “I’m really, really okay, you know? I just also want you to be okay.”
Pin-Lee took a big gulp of tea to delay answering. “You nearly died.”
“We all nearly died, but we got out. You were part of that, too.”
They drank in silence for a few minutes until Bharadwaj said, “Stay at my place tonight?”
Pin-Lee blinked at her. It wasn’t as if she’d never stayed over at Bharadwaj’s apartment before, but usually just because it was already late and more convenient when she didn’t want to walk back to her own suite. “What, like we’re kids having a new year’s sleepover?”
“Exactly like,” Bharadwaj said. Seeing Pin-Lee’s look, she added, “It’ll be fun! We’ll do the new year properly. Let go of—” She waved a hand through the air. “—all of this.”
Pin-Lee tipped the last of her tea down her throat. “Sure, fine.” Maybe staying with Bharadwaj would keep the bloody images away.
“Oh, you didn’t have to act so enthusiastic for my sake,” Bharadwaj teased.
For all the talk of a traditional new year, they didn’t end up doing much solemn contemplation. Instead, they watched one of SecUnit’s terrible corporate dramas, heckling the horrible writing and worse politics and even throwing pillows at the display surface once or twice.
After a while, Pin-Lee realized she was laughing for real, the day’s stresses forgotten.
Which had probably been Bharadwaj’s plan from the moment she invited Pin-Lee over, damn her.
As she drifted off, draped over the arm of Bharadwaj’s unfairly comfortable couch, she said as much. “You’re evil.”
She could hear the sleepy smile in Bharadwaj’s voice without opening her eyes to look. “How so?”
“Sneaky plan.” She paused. Comforting me today when you’re the one who was hurt. “I’m sorry I was an asshole today.”
The couch sank in as Bharadwaj shifted closer, nudging Pin-Lee with her shoulder. “I wouldn’t have messaged you if I wasn’t prepared for you to be cranky.” After a second she added. “Thank you for keeping me company.”
“Mm.” Pin-Lee managed, smiling just a little into the arm of the couch as consciousness slipped away.